Murdered From The Inside
by Dr.Squidge
Summary: When one CSI is taken, will the rest of the team be able to get them back? This is my first shot at this, so sorry if it sucks, and knowing me i've probably rated it wrong too! Reviews and Criticisms welcome :
1. It Starts

Murdered From The Inside

It Starts…

The moon rose silently over the bright shining city of Las Vegas. Somewhere off the strip of casinos stood the dark building that housed the Las Vegas Police Department. In a lab at the back of the building, Sara Sidle was examining evidence from her current case, in which a young girl had been kidnapped, viciously tortured and then killed. Her partner on the case Nick Stokes came in with a satisfied look on his face.

"Something good happened Nick?" Sara asked.

"Oh yeah, looks like we've finally found a lead that'll help nail this sick creep!" said Nick smiling.

"Oh really? And what's this amazing lead?"

"Well I've just got back from the crime scene, and look at what I've found; I think I've hit this case's evidence Jackpot!" Nick held up a clear plastic bag which contained a gun and several .22 calibre bullets. "I've already been to Doc Robbins and got the bullet that killed our vic, took it down to ballistics, and got the striations on the murder bullet matched to those on a test bullet fired from this gun, proving that this is the murder weapon! Grissom won't be too happy that we missed this first time, but as long as it helps nail the guy, I'm sure he won't mind too much!"

"Doesn't look like you've left much out!" Sara said.

"But I did save the best bit for us, I still haven't processed it for trace evidence, I thought you'd be upset if I took all the fun parts!"

"You thought right, now shush, the quicker we do this the quicker we can get the guy locked up!" Sara said a smile broadening on her face.

The two CSIs quickly got to work processing the gun for evidence, using the powder and brushes to look for prints, checking for Gun Shot Residue to see if the weapon had been fired recently and a quick spritz of luminal to see if any blood had found its way onto the gun. Nick was right he had found the evidence Jackpot. They found fingerprints belonging to one James Ritchard, GSR proving that the weapon had been fired and the cherry on the top, they found tiny spatters of the vic's blood on the barrel.

"Looks like we got this Ritchard guy locked up for good!" said Sara

"Yep, and all thanks to my detective skills!" Nick said, boasting. Sara gave him a playful shove.

"Oh yeah Mister Supreme CSI, if your so good please tell me, your adoring fan why it took you two trips to find that gun!" She laughed, Nick joined her and together they walked along the corridor to their supervisor's office.

Gil Grissom, the supervisor of the graveyard shift CSI team, was well respected throughout the building even if he was a bit on the strange side. A man with a keen interest in bugs and who never showed much emotion, Grissom firmly believed in the motto: _'Follow the evidence' _and it usually ended up pointing him in the right direction.

Sara and Nick entered still laughing to themselves.

"Something funny I should know?" Grissom enquired.

"Oh no, just some jokes between myself and Sara" Nick said trying to stop his chuckles.

"Yeah, it's nothing Gris, really…" Sara continued, looking at her shoes.

"Well let's not let these jokes keep us from the real task. Now what have you got for me?"

"After a second trip to the crime scene…" Nick paused to throw a glance at his supervisor who as ever remained emotionless. "I discovered this gun hidden beneath a loose floor tile in the basement, on this gun we found prints from a certain James Ritchard, GSR and blood from the vic."

Nick looked at Sara and then at Grissom and waited patiently for him to say something.

"Well that's certainly enough for a warrant to bring him in for questioning, go on get to Brass's office the pair of you, I want both of you questioning him, from the murder I'd say this guy is tricky…"

Nick and Sara looked quickly at Grissom, at each other and then left for Brass's office just down the hall. Sara knocked quickly on the door, a loud 'Come In' brought her and Nick inside the large but cluttered office of Captain Jim Brass.

"What can I do for you two?" said Jim.

"Well based on new evidence we'd like to ask for an interrogation warrant for James Ritchard." Nick said triumphantly.

"This is the evidence." Sara said passing the baggie to Brass.

"I see, so Ritchard's prints on the gun which has been proved to be the murder weapon, along with GSR and the vic's blood… Yeah there's not a Judge in town who'll refuse this warrant."


	2. Interrogation

Interrogation

An hour later the familiar blue and red lights were flashing outside the LVPD building and two police officers escorted a smirking James Ritchard into the interrogation room. They sat him down on one side of the desk and assumed positions on either side of the door. Brass, Nick and Sara entered, Brass leaning against the wall whilst Nick and Sara sat in the seats opposite James.

"I bet you CSIs are feeling pretty good about yourselves huh? Oh yeah look at us, we've finally got a suspect for the Lorraine Kelly Case!" James said mockingly.

"For starters," Nick said with a solemn look on his face, "how do you know the vic's name, no news of this case has been released to the press, only to Lorraine's parents."

James laughed,

"You really think your serious acts are going to work with me? If you want I'll come out with a confession now! You want it? Here it is! I Killed Lorraine Kelly! I took her from the park that warm April night, I tortured her until huge tears rolled down her perfectly shaped cheeks, and then yeah guess what I shot her! Happy now?"

"Well yes we are happy, now you know what would make us happier?" Brass said, "If you put that in writing and went nice and quietly with these two lovely officers behind me."

"Its not like I have a choice is it? I've just condemned myself to a life in prison! Unless of course… You can't prove that the evidence is real… Because even with a confession, you need evidence to back it up…" A smile started to form across Ritchard's cheeks. Brass scowled,

"Get this creep outta my sight!" And as if like clockwork the officers took James Ritchard to a holding cell on the lower floors of the LVPD building. Nick and Sara were making their way back to the break room, exchanging confused looks when Sara piped up:

"That all seemed to easy to me… He just up and confesses right there in front of us… And what the hell'd he mean about the evidence thing?!" Nick stopped, he noticed a change of tone in Sara's voice, he looked into her eyes and he could see the beginnings of fear.

"I don't know, and I can guess that this isn't going to help you in the state you're in right now, but I don't think we've seen the last of James Ritchard."

"Nick… Don't say that, it makes my mind race!"

"I'm sorry, come on I think you need a coffee, ASAP" He flashed her a warm smile and they continued to the break room.

Sorry these chapters are so short! I'm not really brilliant at this huh! )


	3. Trial Disappearances

Thanks to all who wrote reviews,

Glad to hear you liked it, and here's the next chapter for your enjoyment!

Trial Disappearances

A day had passed and Justice Malcolm Danes was hearing the trial of James Ritchard regarding the murder of Lorraine Kelly.

"And does the defence have any questions for Doctor Robbins?"

"Yes Your Honour, Doctor Robbins, can you clarify the fatal wound of the victim?" said Ritchard's lawyer, a man by the name Frank Libkis.

"Yes, the wound that killed Lorraine Kelly was a gunshot wound, caused by a .22 calibre bullet fired from the gun that my associate will bring in, in a few moments." Al Robbins replied.

"And you can confirm that this gun was the gun used to fire the bullet used to kill Miss Kelly?"

"I can, the striations on the surface of the bullet matched those created by the gun on a test bullet. Striation marks are as unique as fingerprints, every gun leaves a different mark."

"Thank you Doctor Robbins, that's all the questions we have for now."

"Thank you Mr Libkis, I would now like to call in Mr Greg Sanders." Said the Judge motioning to a security guard posted by the courtroom door.

The guard stepped outside into the familiar corridor, he looked to the left and called: "Mr Greg Sanders!" No reply. He looked to the right and called again: "Mr Greg Sanders!" looking puzzled, as he had seen the young spiky haired CSI only a short while ago. The guard stepped back inside the courtroom and announced:

"No response after two calls, Your Honour." Nick and Sara who were watching the trial having done their bit, exchanged nervous glances, both of them had been with Greg before the trial, whilst they were awaiting their turns to be called to the stand, themselves and Doc Robbins had been there with him… The three of them had left one by one until Greg was left alone. The two CSIs dreaded the sentence that the Judge said next.

"If Mr Greg Sanders is unavailable to validate this evidence today, he has 72 hours in which to come forth and do so. If he does not validate this evidence within the time period then it shall be considered as void and Mr James Pritchard shall be a free man. We shall adjourn until 12pm Friday morning." 12pm Friday morning. That gave them slightly over 72 hours in which to find Greg and ask him why the hell he wasn't in the court. Nick, Sara and the Doc met up outside the courtroom, each with a similar expression, one of anxiety.

"Well he was definitely here when I went in, I remember he was sat over there on that couch!" Nick said pointing to a sofa in front of him.

"And he was here when I went in, we were having a little chat beforehand!" Sara continued.

"And I swear that the second before I went in I asked Greg if he was ok, he said yes and I went in. After that Sanders was on his own…" Robbins finished.

"Anything could have happened to him!" Sara said worriedly, her voice was getting louder.

"Come on I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, he erm, probably just went out to get some air…" Nick said trying to reassure Sara, but inside he knew that there would be no truth in what he had said. The three went outside into the early morning sunshine, looking in all directions, none could see Greg anywhere.

"OK I'm worried now, what if something bad's happened to him!" Sara said.

"Well we haven't even tried his cell phone yet, there's probably a rational explanation for all of this!" Nick said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You're probably right," Sara said whilst dialling the number. It rang. And rang. After several rings straight to voicemail:

"Hey this is Greg Sanders, I'm not here right now so leave your name, number and a message and I'll get back to you." Greg's familiar voice frozen in time by the answerphone,

"Greg where the hell are you?! Get your ass back down to the lab now, we need to talk about a certain trial you've missed!" She cut the connection, with a wild look in her eyes turned to Nick and dragged him back to their Black Chevy Tahoe. And they made their way back to the lab in silence.


	4. Where Am I?

Where Am I?

His eyes opened slowly, revealing darkened vision. First thought: _Where am I? What's happened? _A sharp bump lifted him from whatever it was he was lying on and brought him back down with a thud. A faint pain was working his way up through his leg where he'd landed. His mind was gradually returning to him, accompanied by a searing headache. He tried to sit up, but was nudged back down by a blow to his head. That knocked some sense into him. His eyesight still hadn't returned to him. _Weird, my mind's right back where it should be, and so is everything else… Why can't I see? _Another bump, he realised he was moving, along an uneven surface, driving? Not possible. Passenger? The thought suddenly occurred to him. He was in the trunk of some stranger's car, unless one of his friends was playing a prank, _unlikely._ He tried to move his hands, he couldn't. Tied up, he was a captive. The movement stopped, it seemed quiet. The engine had been switched off. He heard a click and sunlight flooded him, he shielded his eyes from the light and he could just make out a dark figure looming over him. Something cold became pressed against his forehead, he recognised the shape immediately. A gun barrel.

Greg Sanders was trapped in the trunk of a car with a stranger in front of him with a gun held against the captive's forehead. Greg tried to say something; he opened his mouth, but soon shut it again when the barrel of the gun moved to his mouth. The figure looked behind him, and signalled for others to come and help. The shadow with a gun stepped back and two more shadows appeared, reached into the trunk and grabbed Greg by his arms and legs, and hoisted him out of the car. They set him down on his feet, and wrapped a cloth around his eyes.

All had gone dark, a round shape had now made itself apparent in the centre of his back, a nudge from the shape, and he got the message to start walking. He put his feet forward cautiously as he could not see where he was placing them. Another nudge in the back told him to move faster, he complied not wanting his spine to be shattered by a cold stream of death. He walked, for what seemed like an age, one wrong step and he fell, hard onto the sidewalk, or at least he guessed it was a sidewalk, whatever it was it bruised his flesh and his confidence. A cold impression on his head was enough to tell him he needed to stand. He tried, but whatever it was he had fallen on was wet and he slipped and collapsed onto the floor again. Another impression, he tried again, this time with sure footing, he stood himself up. The impression returned to his back, he continued walking. Soon he bumped into something, something hard. He put his hands out to feel for what it was, but it had gone, he guessed a door, but he had no real clue. He felt so helpless, like a blind man relying on an untrustworthy guide. The cold shape had returned, urging him on. He took several steps, before giant hand shapes forced him to stop.

He felt his arms being moved, he tried to resist but a sharp pain told him to reconsider his actions. He let himself be moved around he felt cold metal snap shut around his wrists he felt his wrists being lifted, then suspended by something unknown. A huge weight was suddenly present on his shoulders. He struggled to stand, he managed, only to be hit in the stomach and sink down to his knees. Muffled laughter told him there was more than one person with him, he still did not have the strength to stand, he almost had the courage to talk.

Suddenly light filled his eyes as his blindfold was ripped off of his face, he saw a room, a room filled with broken wheelchairs, used syringes, and an old straight-jacket. He was in an abandoned mental suite. He looked around to try and see his captors; he saw three hooded, shadowy figures.

"What do you want from me?" He murmured.

"Hmmm… Mr Sanders, that's for us to know and for you to find out." Said one of the figures in a gruff, muffled voice.

"You know my name… But, how?"

"You see, Mr Sanders we know a lot more than you think, now I suggest you sit back and let us take care of you…"

Oooo who's got Greg?  
Bit of a different writing style, let me know what you think!


	5. Information Given

Information Given

Back at the lab Nick had left Sara in the break room in the care of their colleague Warrick Brown, whilst he took the walk down to Grissom's office to inform him that Greg had in fact disappeared from the trial. He got there to find the door wide open, very unusual for Gris, what's more the man was stood with his back to the door, bent over his desk, poring over various papers. This was strange, firstly because, Grissom wasn't sat at his desk, secondly because the door had been closed and thirdly because he didn't hear Nick come in.

"Gris?" Nick entered cautiously careful not to knock over the tall piles of papers and folders surrounding him. "Gris? I have to ask you something… Gris?" Nick placed a hand on his boss's shoulder and slowly the man turned round, his eyes looked bloodshot, _probably from staring at the computer screen too long_ Nick thought.

"What did you want to ask Nick?" Grissom asked, tiredly.

"I wanted to ask if you'd seen Greg."

"Greg? I thought he was with you and Sara at the Ritchard trial." Grissom's expression suddenly changed, all essence of tiredness vanishing in a instant.

"Well he was, but after Doc Robbins said his bit, they called for him and no response."

"Was anybody with him outside the courtroom?"

"No it was just Greg out there. Completely empty…" Nick looked at his boss, he'd seen that look before, and it was a look Grissom wore when he was arriving at a conclusion.

"And you've tried his cell phone I presume?" Grissom asked.

"Of course, but it went straight to voicemail and Sara left a message."

"Well for starters Nick go down to the lab and get someone to ring Greg's cell again and…"

"See if I can get a location of the signal?"

"Got it in one, go Nick, we waste no time in this profession."

Nick turned, quickly walked out and headed for the second floor computer lab, the place to go if you have cell phone enquiries. The lab was empty, so he quickly rang Sara and got her to meet him in the lab. It wasn't long before she arrived.

"What's up Nick?"

"Well I'm up here to try and get a signal on Greg's cell, so can you ring it for me?"

"Sure." She fished her phone out from under her lab coat and dialled Greg's number. "I don't think we're gonna need that signal somehow…"

"What? Why?" Nick turned to her puzzled.

"Well can't you hear that? You know that's Greg's phone going, look behind you I think it's coming from the cupboards!" Nick walked across to the cupboards yanked open the doors and sure enough sat on the shelf right next to an old project of Greg's was his cell phone.

"Cut the connection Sara, I think we may need to talk to Gris…" The two CSIs made their way back down to their supervisor's office, the door was still open, but Grissom was back at his desk studying the monitor intently.

"Gris…" Sara started, only to be swiftly cut off by Gil.

"I need you two to get over to the Luxor hotel, and take Cath with you… It sounds messy…" Nick and Sara exchanged glances and then hurried out, grabbing Catherine Willows on their way out, they piled their gear into one of the SUVs and accelerated towards the Luxor.

Grissom had been right. It was messy. In one of the glass elevators of the Luxor were the blitzed remains of what used to be a guest. One wall of the elevator had been stained red, and the once white carpet now had red ripples throughout. However the first thing that Catherine noticed as she stepped inside, was a small message written through the blood on the glass. It read:

_One murder down, one to go, you amazing CSIs better get someone over to Circus Circus, I think things are going to get a bit messy._

_Oh and by the way… Greg's fine with me, just thought you ought to know…_

Catherine stepped back outside the elevator, turned to her colleagues and said:

"Well it looks like there is a rational reason for Greg not turning up in court…"

"What are you talking about Cath?" Nick asked.

"Take a look at the message on the bloody wall."

Nick, nudged Sara and they went inside the elevator and read the message Catherine had told them about. When the two returned to the hotel hallway the colour had drained from Sara's face and Nick had a worried glint in his eye.

"I think Grissom needs to know…" Nick said.

"Look I'll get a message to Gris, in the meantime you two get started on processing! We need to get something on this guy so we can find Greg and get him for this nasty mess!" Catherine turned and walked down the hallway, dialling Grissom's number as she went.


	6. Murder The Second

Thanks for reviewing ) has really given me a confidence boost, heehee, anyway here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Murder The Second

After receiving the message from Catherine, Grissom called Warrick to his office.

"Yeah Gris what's up?" Warrick asked, slowly coming into the office.

"You and me need to get to Circus Circus, right away, there's going to be or already has been a murder."

"What? How do you know there's going to be one?"

"Let's just say it's written in the blood." Grissom grabbed his LVPD jacket from the hook and left his office, Warrick close behind. The two CSIs grabbed their boxes, jumped in an SUV and drove off for Circus Circus. And what a scene they found there, at the entrance of the Canyon Blaster indoor rollercoaster ride, sat a ride train patiently waiting to be deployed, only it had a new hood ornament, a human head. An arm seemed to be wrapped around the wheels of the train and various other parts littered the ride station, and as in the murder at the Luxor the scene was smothered in blood. Quickly the two CSIs got to work on analysing the scene, looking for trace evidence everywhere they could think of. Grissom swabbed several sections of blood for future reference whilst Warrick got to work checking over the head and other bits. Their collective discoveries? Nothing. The two men got up and looked at each other utterly defeated, they had completely scoured the scene and all they had come up with was that the victim had be killed on the track by the train.

"Man, there's so little evidence the culprit probably did this in one of those sealed fumigation suits!"

"I know what you mean Warrick, every crime scene has something to show, but this is just empty, there's no prints hiding, no fibres or hairs, just nothing." Grissom looked around, sighing as he did so, Warrick watched for a second, but soon turned his attention back to the train.

"Come on, you've gotta be hiding something… Show me what it is…" Warrick was mumbling to himself, when he spotted something, smeared on the underside of one of the seat restraints. "Hey Gris… I think you'd better take a look at this…"

"What is it?" Grissom asked as he clambered over track to reach his colleague.

"Well take a look at this," said Warrick shining his flashlight up at the underside of the restraint. Written in blood was another message, this time it read:

_Well there you go great CSIs you have now seen two examples of my lovely killing methods… Don't you think it would be a shame if one of these fates were to befall your young gun here? I mean how unfortunate if he found himself in pieces in different casinos? Or perhaps you'll find his body, ripped to pieces by various things… Oh well who's to say eh? One never knows how one is to die, unless of course it is premeditated as your downfall will be. Be warned CSIs one toe out of line and trust me, your little Greg will feel it…_

_Mark My Words…_

"What are you making of this Warrick?"

"All I can say is that either whoever did these whacked out murders is also the creep who's behind swiping Greg… or someone knows a little too much about our inner workings."

"Fascinating isn't it… How the killer leaves no trace of himself anywhere… It's almost as if he's not here…"

"And yet these are the kind of killings that are usually brimming with evidence…"

"Your conclusion Warrick?"

"I'd say these murders have been planned right from the start, every detail covered… Whoever did these must spend an awful lot of time in here and in the Luxor to get this much information…"

"I'd agree with you Mr Warrick, now I'll make the call to get these pieces taken to the morgue and when I'm done, we shall go back to the lab, we need to have a talk with the team…" Once Grissom had made the call the two CSIs made the trip back to the lab. The journey back took considerably less time thanks to Warrick's more than adequate driving skills.

Back at the lab Grissom and Warrick were soon joined by Nick, Sara and Catherine. All eyes were on the supervisor, as they waited for him to speak.


	7. Virtual Threats

Virtual Threats

All were sat in silence, looking in the direction of Gil Grissom, who was once again looking pensive.

"Gris?" Catherine said, breaking the silence. "Are you going to say something? The tension in here is so thick you could slice it with a knife."

"Yes, sorry Cath. People we have a serious situation on our hands here…"

"Of course we do! Greg's gone missing!" Nick rose to his feet, but a nudge from Warrick made him quickly retake his seat.

"As I was going to say, this case now goes top priority, I want you all to work in shifts, we will all be working on this case in between others, and I want you all to put your maximum into this! We need to find Sanders. Sara, Cath you two are the first to work on the Sanders case, the rest of us will collect our case files and continue with what we do." The team nodded and slowly filed out, taking various folders as they left.

Just as Grissom was about to leave himself, his cell phone rang, the Caller ID showed an unknown number, he answered cautiously. A gruff voice sounded in his ear.

"Supervisor Gil Grissom?"

"This is him… Can I ask who this is?"

"No you may not, now call in the rest of your lackeys, I mean team, we all need a little chat…"

"Who are you to call the shots in my lab?"

"I am the one who will be making all the decisions now Mr Grissom, because otherwise, there will be bad consequences…" Not knowing how to react, Grissom leant out of his office door and hollered for his team, who immediately returned to the office and reassumed their seats. Grissom set the phone down on the desk and pressed the speaker button.

The gruff voice was heard again,

"I assume that you have all 5 members of your team, including yourself Mr Grissom?"

"I do indeed, now would you be so kind to tell me, who you are and why you are making this call."

"Well, seeing as you asked so nicely, I will answer those questions. My name, well you don't need to know that, so just call me X, and as for this call, well I have a certain little monkey who wishes to talk to you…" The team heard a door slam and shuffling movement, the next voice they heard was quiet, jittery but they recognised it at once.

"Guys, i-its me… You have to do s-something, quickly, I'm in… aaahh!" the sound that came from Greg was one of pain, the gruff voice swiftly replaced Greg.

"You see, one toe out of line young man and you will be punished… Now my dear CSIs are you prepared to do as I say, or do I need to persuade you more?" The team heard a thud and another moan from Greg.

"Stop it! What's he done to you?" Sara shouted.

"Ah well, dear Sara… You see young Greg here is the perfect bargaining chip, because if you find him he'll be dead and unable to do anything, and if within three days you don't find him then a friend of mine will be free to go." A sinister sounding laugh sounded on the other end of the phone. "Got any ideas yet?" and the phone went dead.

"He knows my name… He knows my name… How??" Sara stood up and went out into the corridor to gaze out of the window. Warrick followed her, laid a hand on her shoulder and she turned around. He saw her eyes were wild with fear, he could feel her arms were shaking.

"Calm down Sara, it's going to be alright, we'll find Greg and everything will be back to normal."

"Will it Warrick? How can you be sure, what if we've lost Greg forever, what if one of us is next?" Warrick could see she was scared and fighting to hide her emotions.

"It's gonna be alright… Come here," He held her for a few moments before taking her back to Grissom's office.

As the pair entered Grissom's cell phone rang once more, Grissom answered, hit speakerphone and put the cell back on the desk, the gruff voice echoed round the room,

"Oh and one last thing, I will be calling again… at various times, just to let you know how your little hedgehog is doing… I'm sure your looking forward to hearing from him again aren't you?" the phone clicked and went dead again. Grissom stood up slowly, turning to Catherine,

"Cath I need you to do me a favour… Go down to Brass and tell him that all the calls on my work cell are to be monitored and recorded, we can try and catch the kidnapper on his next call, get a location and maybe even a voice clip for comparison."

"I'm on it," She left the office motioning for Sara to accompany her and headed for Brass's room.

"Now the rest of us will get back to our jobs… People won't stop for us, so why should we stop for them?" Grissom took his case file and left leaving Nick and Warrick to their next case, but they couldn't stop the thoughts of Greg niggling in their minds.


	8. A Small Clue

A Small Clue

Several hours had passed, and Nick and Warrick were returning with fresh batches of evidence from their latest crime scene when Nick's cell phone rang,

"Stokes."

"Nick, we need you back here now, the kidnapper is on the phone." Catherine's voice came down the phone to Nick.

"We're on our way, we've just come into the building." He cut the connection, and he and his colleague rushed to the lab and then to the break room, where Catherine and the rest of the team were waiting for them.

"What's the news? Tell me it's something good!" Nick said breathing heavily.

"Ah, well Mr Stokes if you make yourself comfortable I will tell you…" The familiar voice of X bounced off the walls of the break room. "Now, I understand that you have my dear friend Grissom's calls monitored and recorded. I expected nothing less from the champions of night time justice, so I prepared myself."

"What are you talking about?" Warrick started.

"Simply, I am making these calls from a pre paid phone card which I know for a fact are untraceable, and I am speaking into a computer which is making my voice unrecognisable, you see in reality I sound nothing like what you are hearing now. Oh how I wish I was there, I would love to see the looks of amazement and disappointment in your once brave faces…" X laughed, the laughter sounded hollow in the break room, but the voice was right, looks of amazement and disappointment were starting to spread across the team's faces. "Oh and guess what someone wants to talk to you, because you see I have informed young Greg of his likely fate and because I'm a nice person I'm going to let him explain it instead of me."

"Guys… It's me…" Greg's breathing was heavy, it sounded as though he was in pain. "Look I don't have much time, but this creep has told me everything… If you guys don't get here in time, then Ritchard becomes a free man, he's all prepared to continue his murders, but thanks to the Double Jeopardy law we won't be able to get him… You've got to…" But Greg's last sentence was cut short by a loud crack and a shout of pain.

"Now, now my little spiky hedgehog, times up. You should learn not to drag on… Only I have the power to do that… Until next time CSIs good luck. Oh and isn't it amazing how one man can orchestrate this… You'd have to have the knowledge of crime… Might I suggest looking under your noses? I mean, it can't be hard, look time is repeating itself…" The connection was cut. A thought clicked in Grissom's head. He looked around his team, each member wore a different expression, Catherine was looking away, Warrick looked shocked, Sara's face had become white and Nick had a worried look.

Grissom addressed his team:

"I have a thought… I think I have an idea about who took Greg…"


	9. A Peek At The Inside

A Peek At The Inside

"I think that James Ritchard is behind the murders and Greg's kidnapping…"

"But that's not possible, he's in a holding cell a few floors below us." Warrick said.

"Oh it is… James may well have ordinary people in the outside world doing his dirty work. This has probably been planned for a long time and we would have had no knowledge of it until it happened." Grissom explained.

"I'm going down to Ritchard's holding cell. We need to squeeze every little piece of information out of that rat…" Sara said, colour returning to her.

"I'll go with you." Nick piped up. "We've both talked to this guy before, we know what he's like."

"Good. Go." Grissom pointed towards the door. The two left and sped down to the cells below the building.

They arrived at the cell which housed James Ritchard, he was sat on his bunk with a grin on his face.

"I wondered how long it would be till you people got here…"

"You know about Greg don't you?" Nick asked gripping the bars.

"Oh aren't you the smart one. But how? How do I know? Nobody else knows, so how does the locked up James Ritchard know about the kidnapping of Greg Sanders?"

"Cut the crap, now what have you done with Greg?" Sara shouted.

"Well straight down to business, as always Miss Sidle, you know I've always admired your work, you've always been my favourite member of the team."

"What…? How have you seen my work?" Sara mumbled, Nick could see the colour draining once more from her face.

"It's quite simple really. You know how day shift had those lights repaired the other week?" Nick and Sara looked at each other, they had a faint idea of what they were about to hear.

"Well I knew about that, and I had a little chat with the repairman… He installed special little cameras for me. Oh yes I know all of your work secrets… About how one CSI isn't allowed to cut the evidence envelope tape of another CSI, and how you all wear latex gloves and blue lab coats in the labs. And of course, where little Greg keeps that old project of his, it was a simple matter of placing the phone there."

"That's how you knew Greg was going to be alone for a short period of time at the trial." Nick said, seeing Sara was having trouble finding words.

"Oh well done, have a gold star!" James said, sarcasm in his voice. "Now let's see what haven't you figured out yet? Oh yes motive, well all you know is about the evidence and my freedom, but what about 'your downfall' you know the little message I left at Circus Circus. Now where's the motive for that?"

"We never can know the true motive, so why don't you shed some light on the subject for us Mr Ritchard."

"Now somehow, I don't want to answer that… Actually I don't feel inclined to answer any more of your questions… And there's no way you can make me. So if you want to waste time that could be spent looking for little hedgehog, then by all means stay and we can chat… But otherwise…" Sara glanced at Nick, they both were thinking the same, _there's no way we can get anymore outta him right now, let's go. _They left Ritchard smiling to himself in his cell.

The two CSIs quickly found Grissom in his office and told him of what they had found out.

"So Ritchard is defiantly the mastermind behind these cases? The two murders and the kidnapping?"

"Yes, we just don't know how or why." Nick said.

"Very well, our next task is locate Greg, and return him to where he belongs,"


	10. First Blood

First Blood

As if on cue, the screen on Grissom's computer flickered into life, and a dark shadow appeared on screen, with Ritchard's face in a box in the corner.

"Now isn't this a surprise eh?" Ritchard's familiar voice echoed out of the computer speakers. "You were expecting a phone call weren't you? Well now, I thought I'd be a bit different."

"So you've used the camera controls on the mainframe to broadcast yourself right?" Archie's voice came into the mix, and the young audio/video expert was stood in the doorway. "I was on my way down here to ask Grissom if he'd had some camera controls installed. But now I don't need to ask that question."

"Ah Archie, I was hoping I'd get to talk to you. I know you've been checking over Grissom's phone calls, and what have you found on my ones?"

"Bubkis, except, that the computerised has some phonetic matches to your voice Mr Ritchard."

"That bastard! I told him to use all new voice files…" The shadow moved and said something,

"Sorry boss…"

"Shut up, you're not paid to talk you idiot! Now let's see, you'll be able to track this video through the IP address, am I right Archie?"

"Yep, looks like Gris will be paying you a visit."

"Oh I'm looking forward to it! Hey wait a minute… There are only 3 CSIs and Archie here… Where are Warrick and Catherine hmmm?"

"They're busy… Working." Sara said.

"Working eh? Well better call them in, we don't want them missing out on the action do we?" Grissom complied calling the cell phone of Warrick, who arrived swiftly with Catherine.

"Action?" Nick took the opportunity to try and get an explanation of the situation.

"Ooo yeah. I've been looking forward to this for a long time… This dude's been bugging me since he got here!" said the shadow, smiling to reveal a set of glinting golden teeth.

"I thought I told you to shut up! Our viewers don't need your voice to ruin the show!" Ritchard shouted. "Yes dear Mr Stokes, my shadowy friend and your Hedgehog have a little routine for you, if you watch carefully you might find a clue to help find him! Now let the fun begin!"

The shadowy figure swiftly moved to behind Greg's body. Greg looked basically unhurt, just a few cuts and bruises here and there, his arms were strapped to a beam behind his head, he had sunk to his knees and he let his head droop. The team heard a thud and Greg's body tensed, and he let out a groan.

"Now, now little hedgehog, smile and say hello to your friends!" said Ritchard.

"You sick bastard… You're making my friends watch this… You've just sunk to a whole new level of low." Greg said.

"Oh now that's not a nice thing to say is it?" James Ritchard raised one finger and the team saw the shadow take a metal bar and bring it down onto Greg's left arm, they heard a crack followed quickly by a scream of pain.

The thoughts were racing in Greg's mind, _I can't believe my friends are watching this, he is one sick son of a bitch…_ A sharp blow cut Greg's train of thought and replaced it with a new one, one filled with pain. He knew he had to appear strong in front of everyone, but he also knew that if he were to defy his captors, more torture was in store for him. He raised his head slowly but it was quickly beaten down again by a blow to his mouth. Despite that he tried again, he had to say something to his colleagues…

What the team were seeing wasn't good, Greg's left arm was at an awkward angle, and when he lifted his head for a second time, crimson blood was slowly dripping from one corner of his mouth.

"Stop it! Stop it you creep!" Sara shouted at the screen.

"Oh no, Miss Sidle the fun has only just begun!"

A chain attached to the beam behind Greg's head, started to lift towards the ceiling of the room, making Greg stand on his feet. The shadow took something shiny from behind his back, with a quick swipe, Greg collapsed onto one knee, screaming in agony, a blood pool was slowly forming around him. Another glint and Greg collapsed entirely, the pain too much to make a sound, he lifted his head for a second before his strength left him and he slipped into the realms of unconsciousness.

Greg could feel himself lifting, rising onto his feet, he was suspended somehow, like a puppet, completely in the control of his captors. Suddenly a sharp pain ripped across his right leg, the chain loosened, he fell, and could feel warm streams oozing down his leg. Again the pain ripped across but this time on his left. Greg hit the floor, the space around his knees was warm and wet from his blood, the thoughts were flying, _I have to say goodbye, even if I can't see them… This can't be the end but it just might be… _Until his strength had completely ebbed away.

"No! Greg!" Sara was up and shouting at the computer screen.

"Ritchard, you sick bastard…" Warrick said.

"Oh come now Warrick, this is nothing, and besides mean comments will just make me upset, and I like to take my anger out on other people… That other person might just be little Greg…"

"What do you want from us James?" Grissom asked.

"Well, let's see, I want to be a free man, and before you say anything, I can get what I want just by keeping Greg here, so there's no reason for me to release him to you."

"What if we were to come and get him?"

"Well then maybe… Just maybe I'd let him go… Depending on how I felt… I suppose you could bring some money into the picture to help tempt me."

"How much?"

"Oh I don't know, how much is little Hedgehog worth? Hmmm… I'd say around $2 million in cash. That should do it."

"Fine."

"And now that that's settled I shall stay no longer, until next time CSIs goodbye." The screen went black. Sara had sunk to the floor tears falling uncontrollably down her face, Warrick was leaning against the door frame with his head in his hands, Cath was fighting to keep her feelings at bay, Nick trying to comfort her and Archie had disappeared during the scene. Grissom knelt down beside Sara laid a hand on her shoulder and said:

"We'll get him back, I promise."

"But Gris, you've seen what he's already been through, what if we're too late!"

"Well if we leave now we won't be too late." Archie came walking through the door with a tape and papers in hand.

"What do you mean Archie?" Catherine asked, regaining her composure.

"Well whilst that creep was doing… That, to Greg I was getting the IP address of the computer being used to broadcast. It's in an old building off the strip!"

"Archie, you really are a brilliant man." Warrick said shaking his hand.

"Hey, no time for congratulations now, go get Sanders! And tell him I said hi."

"No problem man!"

The team rushed out of the office into two SUVs, Grissom and Catherine in one, Warrick, Sara and Nick in the second. They headed to the location that Archie had told them about, an old disused mental hospital.


	11. Rescue Plans

Rescue Plans

Grissom had arranged to have the money brought to them outside the hospital, and shortly after the CSIs had arrived at the site, a large van arrived, the driver got out, unlocked a safe and presented Grissom with a briefcase, containing 2 million dollars of cash. Grissom thanked the driver who swiftly left the scene.

"Right, we have the briefcase, now which one of us is going to give the case to the kidnappers?" Grissom asked.

"Where did you get that money? I know for a fact that the bureau hasn't given you that money." Catherine asked, throwing her boss a quizzical look.

"Just like last time, the money was donated anonymously." He replied, a boyish smile playing about his mouth. He thought back several hours before when he had been trying to persuade Undersheriff McKeen to give him Greg's ransom fund,

"_No Grissom, it's like I told you before, we don't send money to terrorists."_

"_This man doesn't terrify me so therefore he's not a terrorist."_

"_I don't care about your technicalities; the Las Vegas Criminalistics Bureau cannot and will not pay to have your guy released."_

"_Well then, you may well have just made yourself a murderer."_

"Now as I asked, who's going to give the case to the kidnappers?"

"I'll do it." Nick stepped forward and took the case from Grissom's hands.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" the supervisor asked.

"If it gets Greg back, I'll do anything."

"Very well. Don't worry, we'll be right behind you, and of course the SWAT team have the building surrounded, a couple are even coming in with us."

"Yeah thanks Gris, that makes me feel a whole lot better about going into a room with a maniac." He turned towards the entrance of the building and cautiously made his way to it. The place was dark, completely out of reach of the bright lights from the strip and the clouds looming overhead were threatening a storm.

After reaching the door and finding it unlocked, he motioned for the team to follow him in, the view that met them was not what they expected. They entered a dark room, the reception of the hospital, the place was littered with broken window glass and bits of old chairs. Nick moved towards the desk when a light suddenly snapped on, a hooded figure was sat behind the desk.

"Greg Sanders" he said, "Down the corridor behind me, turn left and follow the signs." The figure pointed behind him and laughed. The team unsure what to think headed in the direction shown by the hooded receptionist.

Nick was leading the group with a SWAT soldier alongside him, the rest of the group followed with another soldier bringing up the rear. Nick cautiously stepped into the corridor, looked behind him at the reception desk to find the hooded figure had gone. Nick returned his thoughts to the hallway in front of him and began to walk forwards, after a few steps he stopped.

"What is it Nick?" Catherine asked.

"Can't you hear that beeping? It's only just started… Steady, like a…" Reality hit him. Mines. "Shit. Run! The floor is full of mines" He started running, the beeping was getting faster, louder and he could hear more than one set of sounds. The team ran until the reached the door at the end of the hall. It was a heavy door and took precious seconds to open. By the time the door was open, some of the mines had started going off. A trail of explosions raced down the corridor, sweeping the SWAT member off of his feet and slamming him into a wall leaving him to be consumed by the flames. Fortunately the team had managed to get themselves through the door and shut it quickly enough to stop the flames.

"That door won't help us for long, the fire will be in here in around half an hour, we need to move quickly" said the SWAT soldier. The team didn't need to be told twice, they went down the left passage as the receptionist had told them, headed by Nick alone, as the SWAT member had taken position at the back of the group. Nick went cautiously, he didn't want another disaster like the mines. Sara, rushed forward to catch up with Nick.

"Hey Nick, you doing alright?"

"Huh? Yeah I'm doing good, how are you holding up?"

"Well, I've been better, I suppose words just don't do my feelings any justice." Nick had no answer, and so he walked on with Sara by his side. The team travelled in silence for a while, until a loud snap shattered their silence.

"What the hell was that?!" shouted Warrick, just as he spoke tonnes of rubble began to cascade from the ceiling "Oh My God! Nick! Sara! Move!" Nick looked up to see what was falling above him, his sight was filled by dust and bricks, he grabbed Sara and dived forward away from the falling debris, but now he could see his friends disappearing behind a growing pile of rubble. Nick had to shield his eyes to protect them from the dust, when he opened them again, all he could see was rubble.

"Grissom!" Nick shouted.

"Nick, are you and Sara ok?" came the reply.

"Yeah we're fine, a bit dusty and a couple of bruises but nothing major."

"You're gonna have to deliver that case by yourselves! There's no way the rest of us can get through."

"Sure thing Gris, we'll get our boy back."

"Good! Now we'll try and shift some of this pile, we're going to need to go that way, its our only way out."

Nick was reluctant to leave his friends behind but a tap on the shoulder from Sara quickly reminded him what was at stake. The two CSIs trudged on through the dimly lit corridor, shining the slim beams of their flashlights along the walls checking for signs that would lead them to Greg. Most of the walls were covered in old boards, and graffiti from where gangs had come in and left their marks. Written on one of these boards was the name "Greg Sanders" and next to it, "Room 119". Perfect. The place where Greg was held. Nick couldn't help but feel that it was all too easy, the kidnappers had already nearly killed them twice, and had successfully split up the team, trapping them like rats in his domain, who was to say that he wouldn't do it again? He didn't want to convey his feelings to Sara in case it worried her, he risked a quick look back at her and from the look on her face she was having the same thoughts as him. Walking in silence the pair finally reached Room 119. The place where Greg had been kept, Nick wrapped his fingers around the door handle and twisted.


	12. Risks Taken

Risks Taken

The door swung open with a long, loud creak. Any chance of stealth had been ruined. A voice emanated from the gloom,

"Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle? I've been expecting you…"

"We're here, we've got the money, now where's Greg?" Nick demanded.

"Now, now, all in good time my friend. Before we start, there's something we need to do…" A shadow emerged, and waved his hands. Unknown to Nick and Sara, two more shadowy figures appeared behind them armed with Chloroform soaked cloths. The two CSIs never knew what hit them.

Some time later, consciousness slowly started to return to Sara, her eyes flicked open eager to take in their surroundings. She looked to the left and then the right. She couldn't see much, it was too dark, her eyes were just adjusting to the dim light when the over-head lights suddenly snapped on, temporarily blinding her. When she regained her senses she could see where she was. Stood up against a blood spattered wall, her hands in wall mounted cuffs above her head. She looked down at her belt, her firearm was missing. _Shit… The one time I'm gonna need it, it's gone! _The thoughts raced through her mind, and one particular thought hit her like a brick. _Nick! Where is Nick?! _She looked to the sides of her, and she saw him on her right, trapped, in the same position she, hands cuffed above his head, it looked like he was still out cold. She hadn't seen anyone else in the room, she had to risk it. She had to wake Nick up.

"Nick! Nick wake up!" she shouted. She saw no movement, heard no sound. Nothing. She tried again.

"Nick! You've got to wake up!" This time Nick groaned, his head lolled to one side and his eyes slowly opened.

"What…? What's going on?" Nick was squinting in the bright light.

"Nick! We're trapped, cuffed onto the walls and…" She stopped mid sentence because another thought penetrated through her mind: _Greg! Shit, where the hell is Greg?! _

"Greg?! Greg! Where are you, if you can hear me, let me know?" Sara looked around franticly, her eyes wildly searching for any sign of her spiky haired friend, and then she remembered. The wall they were up against, out of the corner of her eye she had noticed that it was blood spattered. _Blood. Oh God… I may be standing in Greg's blood. _The thought scared her; it reminded her of how much trouble he was in. It reminded her that her colleague, her crazy friend, a kid-like brother may even be dead. Her stomach was churning and she felt like she was about to lose its contents, fighting the nausea she shouted again,

"Greg! Answer me dammit!"

"Ah Miss Sidle glad to see you're awake." James Ritchard's echoing voice filled the room. "Is your pal Nick awake too?"

"You better believe it. What have you done with Greg? Your buddy told us to come down here, you've taken what you want now give us the G back!"

"Well I suppose it is time you were introduced to the star of this fiasco… Bring him in!" A cloaked shadow came in with a bag slumped over his shoulder, closely followed by another figure carrying a beam and some chains. The first shape dumped the bag on the floor and pressed a button on the back wall, a chain started to lower from the ceiling. The second shadow attached the beam he had to the chain from the ceiling. He gave the first one a thumbs-up and took a step back. The first one returned to the bag, untied the top and pulled out a seemingly lifeless Greg. Although Sara could only see his back, she could see he'd been through a helluva lot. The back of his once blue slacks were now darkened with his own blood. His white pinstriped shirt now resembled a rag, hanging loosely off of his shoulders. The skin she could see was badly bruised and littered with open cuts. She looked away. She couldn't bear to look at him, to see his pain anymore. She closed her eyes, wishing it all away, but her thoughts were broken when a cold gloved hand gripped her chin. She opened her eyes as the hand wrenched her head round to face forward, she shifted her eyes to the right and saw Nick too was getting the same treatment. Her eyes flicked forward again and met those of the captor. They were cold, unfeeling eyes, the kind you'd imagine on someone who's life had been extinguished. They glared into Sara's own eyes, she could feel the look penetrating her skull and into her subconscious. That was a look she'd never forget. Her captor released her and pointed towards the centre of the room. She followed the finger and her eyes met a horrific sight.


	13. Danger Zone

Danger Zone

In the centre of the room, strung up like a human puppet, hung the limp body of CSI Greg Sanders, his left arm hanging awkwardly, his leg bloodstained, with his feet hovering centimetres from the ground. There was a dried up stream of blood that had come from his lip, his nose too was blood covered, and one eye was sealed by a cake of blood. Through a gap in his once casual shirt, knuckles of bone could be seen where ribs were fighting to break the skin. Every inch of visible skin was covered in either blood or bruises.

"What have you done to him, you bastard?!" Nick yelled, his voice rebounding off of the walls.

"I haven't done anything, except maybe a little remodelling." James Ritchard's voice filled the room once more.

"He didn't deserve this. Greg's an innocent and decent man… Not only that he's my best friend, and for all the trauma you've put him through, you're going to pay…" Nick said, his voice getting louder. James just laughed.

"I'm going to pay am I? Oh that's rich, coming from you. In case you've forgotten, you're trapped in here, and your friends are about to meet a fiery fate. So I really doubt that you're going to make me pay." The last sentence made Sara lift her head. The fire. Had her friends managed to break through the wall of rubble and escape the fire's clutches? _Oh God, what if they're gone too. Warrick, Catherine. Grissom, what about Gil? _

"Oh is little Sara worried about her friends? Fear not little one, their deaths will most definitely be painful ones, I've made sure of that."

"You filthy son of a bitch, not only do you take Greg, but you take them as well? What's next? How many more people do you have to kill?!" Her voice was becoming shaky; fear and despair were taking over her mind. Her head dropped and her breathing became slow. Nick looked at her, and then fixed his gaze on Greg once more.

"Why don't you let Greg go? Why let him die? You know full well, that in only a few hours the evidence will be void so why bother killing him, hell I'll even take his place! Let him and the others go!"

"Ah Nicky, sacrificing yourself for your friends is a brave thing, but you see you don't really know all the reason why I took little Greg in the first place. Would you like me to tell you now?"

"It's not as if I have much choice."

"Very well then. Now a long time ago, there lived a man called William Ritchard, guess who that man was? That's right, he was my father. Now my father wasn't a squeaky clean man, and got busted for armed robbery of the local bank. Although he was a small man, he was definitely a tough one, he strolled into that prison cell and nothing fazed him. But my father didn't quite manage to finish his sentence. You know why? Because he murdered his cellmate, or should I be truthful and say, my father complied with the wishes of his cellmate, and brought the gun in for his suicide."

"And what does that have to do with us?"

"Now, now Nick be patient. Story time isn't over yet. And it has every little bit to do with you and your all star team, because do you know who worked this case? That's right; it was your precious Grissom and his buddy Brass. And it was their incompetence that led to my father's death, you know what C.O.D was? The lethal injection, that fatal mix of Sodium Thiopental, Pancuronium Bromide and Potassium Chloride. I was there. I saw his eyes close for the last time, the pain welling up inside of me was unbearable. And now I am here to avenge my late father. I can't help but think that Grissom should get the same treatment as my father but hey that would just have been the icing on the cake, the real satisfaction is that I will be able to watch his destruction whenever."

"You're taping the deaths, that's entered a whole new world of sick."

"Well maybe I am a sick individual, but that's just me and you'll have to deal with it Nicky."

"Stop calling me Nicky! Only my friends call me that!"

"Well ok, I suppose I could always call you Poncho…"

"How do you know about that?"

"I have my sources…"

"You're nothing but a stalker are you?"

"Oh I'm so much more, I'm a choreographer as well, I mean I put together this whole show on my own, even this little interlude. Boys, it's Showtime!" The two shadows moved into position, one on either side of Greg. Sara had looked up at Ritchard's latest words.

"What are you doing? Get away from him!"

"Miss Sidle, shh, you're interrupting the show!" From beneath their cloaks, the shadows drew out weapons. One had a knife while the other had a long, slim, metal pole. The pole was quickly brought down across Greg's back and that snapped him back into consciousness. He cried out in pain, and his cry was met by a snickering James,

"Welcome back hedgehog, its time for your performance and look you have an audience!" Greg looked around and spotted Nick and Sara up against the wall.

"Let my friends go, it was me you wanted, you've got me so leave them alone."

"Oh no Greg, I haven't captured them, they just wanted to watch the show, I was just making them comfortable"

"You're not going to make them watch this…"

"You got it in one, little one, now do you have anything to say to them?"

"Nick… Sara… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you dragged into this." His eyes began to glisten.

"Hey Greggo, it's not your fault, you holding up ok little buddy?" Nick asked, he wanted to reach for Greg and help him, but the metal cuffs above his head stopped him.

"Greg, it's going to be ok, hang in there." Sara said, but she could feel in her heart that what she said bore no meaning. Greg looked at her with glassy eyes filled with fear and pain, his eyes shifted and locked with Nick's.

"Goodbye Nick," Greg whispered and he dropped his head.

"No Greg! Don't give up! This isn't the end, I promise you!" Nick yelled, struggling like a madman to escape the grasp of his cuffs, his efforts held no reward. As if the end of Nick's struggling was a cue, one of the shadows launched at Greg, knife in the air, and plunged the blade deep into Greg's right arm. A scream passed Greg's lips; it got louder and more desperate as the serrated blade went deeper. The figure yanked his arm backward, drawing the blade out with it. It held the blade aloft for a moment, allowing warm drops of blood to drip onto Greg's wounded limb. The second shadow moved in front of Greg and smashed the pole into his stomach. Greg, winded, could not utter a sound and doubled over in pain. He wanted to clutch his stomach, but the beam he was strapped to prevented all arm movement. The pain was eating away at his mind, too often in the past hours had he experienced this feeling, he knew he was going under again and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Greg returned to a limp state and the shadows stepped back.

"And that my friends is the end of the show." At the sound of Ritchard's voice the cuffs holding Nick and Sara snapped open. Their arms released, the pair ran over to their fallen comrade only to be blocked by the shadowy henchmen of James Ritchard.

"Don't you think you should check on your colleagues first?" Ritchard's voice was accompanied by an evil sounding laugh. "Some friends you are, leaving them to die like that…" Nick turned to Sara. He could see she felt utterly helpless.

"Look Sara, we can't both go, you stay here, keep a close eye on what they do to Greg. I'm going to look for the others."

"Nick…" She started, but she could see there was no changing his mind. She put a hand on his shoulder and said:

"Be careful Nicky, I don't want to lose you too."

"Don't worry I'll come back, I promise." He turned and ran towards the door, before opening it; he turned back to Sara,

"I Promise." He turned the door handle and ran out, slamming the door behind him, leaving Sara alone to fend for Greg. She turned back to Greg only to find the beam where he had once been.


	14. What's That Burning?

What's That Burning?

The slamming of the door echoed around the hallway Nick had come into, the air was warm around him and he could smell the distinct aroma of burning. He ran down through the darkness, desperate to find his friends trapped, between rubble and a fiery fate. He was running blindly, no flashlight to banish the darkness. His arms outstretched he shouted,

"Grissom, Warrick, Cath?! Can you guys hear me?!"

"We're here Nicky; we're almost through the wall!" Catherine's familiar voice was muffled behind the rocky mountain in front of him. He reached out and started grabbing bits of whatever it was and throwing them back, trying to free his friends from their prison. Precious minutes passed, the air was warming up as the fire was getting ever closer, and finally Nick threw aside some stone and could see his friends, a wave of relief rushed over him, giving him new found strengths to break through the rest of the wall. He paused quickly as he could smell burning, stronger now than before; the heat was rivalling that outdoors. Nick shot his gaze beyond his friends and saw a growing orange glow.

Suddenly, the doors that were holding the fire back blew inwards shattering against the solid wall in front of it. Grissom, Warrick and Catherine were showered with splinters and smoke began to fill the corridor, which was now illuminated by the glow from the fire.

"Shit! Guys are you ok?!" Nick shouted.

"We're fine, keep shifting this crap, we've gotta get away from here!" Warrick hollered back. The team began manically tossing aside the rubble, the size of the mound rapidly shrinking, the seconds crawled by, time seemed to be set on slow, and the team were getting more and more fearful of the growing blaze behind them.

"That's it! We're through!" Warrick shouted throwing a large piece of brickwork behind him. "You guys, climb through! Hurry!" The three CSIs scrambled over the garbage towards an anxious Nick who was waiting on the other side.

"Come on quick! Sara's with Greg in a room just down this hall" Nick began to run again, urging the others to follow behind. They sped down the hallway leaving trails of dust in their wake. Nick slid to a halt outside the door he had previously come from.

"Here! In here is where I left Sara with Greg!" Nick grabbed the door-handle, twisted and shoved the door open, and what he saw was Sara on her knees with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking violently. Grissom laid a hand on her back,

"Sara, are you alright?"

"He… He's gone…" she murmured.

"Who's gone?"

"Greg… I turned around to see Nick off, when I turned back… He'd gone…" Grissom could see that her eyes were glazed over with a fresh layer of tears; he gave her his hand and helped her up.

"It's not your fault; we'll get him back… I promise."

"Gil, from where I'm standing that promise seems like it's already been broken…" She collapsed onto his shoulder, crying softly. He left her there for a few moments until James Ritchard's cold voice broke the silence,

"Ha! I laugh at your incompetence CSIs! I cannot believe how easy it was to steal your prize right from under your noses! Don't worry, Greg's safe with me, completely out of reach of harm… Although it won't be long before he'll feel no pain… Oh is that a flicker of fear I sense for your little hedgehog, well chop, chop! Better find him before its too late!"

"Where is he? What have you done with him?!" Catherine shouted.

"Well now, I don't think I should tell you because that would be too easy, you see you're all CSIs right? So it shouldn't be too hard to track him down, unless you're not at good as you say you are…"

"Right, let's start with the basics, how many exits from this room are there?" Grissom said, looking around the room.

"Three." Nick said. "The one we just came through, one in the left corner and what seems like a trapdoor just behind Sara."

"Ok then, Warrick and Sara, you take the trapdoor, Nicky, Cath you two take the door in the far left."

"What about you Gris?" Warrick asked,

"Give me a second Warr and I'll tell you." Grissom turned and jogged towards the door they had come through, he put his hands on the handle but drew them away quickly.

"This door handle's hot, it's much too dangerous to go out there, and the fire would have me in seconds, so I'm going with Nick and Catherine. Let's move people." Grissom ushered Nick and Catherine towards the far left door, whilst Warrick and Sara lowered themselves into the tunnel under the trapdoor.


	15. Hunting In Darkness

Hunting in Darkness

The tunnel under the trapdoor had a smell to it… Sara couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. It smelt familiar, something she'd smelt many times before, but it was weak, masked by the musty smell that accompanied the tunnel. She said nothing to Warrick; she just let him lead the way through the dank tunnel. It was a long passage, the darkness inside made it feel smaller than it was. Sara felt anxious, this was an easy place to be murdered in, and she kept her guard up and stayed close behind Warrick, her hand straying to her belt only to find the gun holster empty. It was a comfort thing.

In the corridor behind the door in the back, Grissom, Nick and Catherine walked silently through the dark aided by the light of their flashlights. Nick desperately wanted to say something but he knew that it would lower his concentration and lower the chances of finding Greg. He looked around but could see nothing; he shone the beam of his flashlight along the wall, looking for anything suspicious. _Tap, tap. _He heard something, or did he? Nick strained his ears to try and find out what the foreign sound was. Silence. That's all he could hear, he was about to give up when, _tap, tap, tap_. There it was again! The definite sound of footsteps. Footsteps besides their own. These were heavy, like work boots perhaps? Couldn't be any of the team, none of them wore work boots. _Maybe it's the kidnappers. Maybe they've got Greg!_ The thoughts ran through his head, he had to tell Grissom.

"Gris?"

"What is it Nicky?" his supervisor answered.

"Stop walking for a sec and listen, I think I hear footsteps." The three CSIs stopped, letting the silence envelope them, and then _tap, tap. _There were the footsteps, clearer this time. Maybe closer.

"You hear that?" Nick whispered.

"I do. They could lead us to Greg, follow them but keep very quiet. If you can quieten your footsteps." Grissom replied. "If we haven't already let the person know we're here then the element of surprise would be very handy" The team of three moved on silently even their steps were silent. The distinctive _tap, tap_ could still be heard and was getting louder meaning either they were catching the person up or they were travelling in opposite directions and heading towards each other. Either way it wasn't long before Catherine could make out a figure in the gloom.

The smell in the tunnel was getting stronger and more recognisable. Sara felt sure she knew it and she was fine-combing her memory to remember what the smell was. The brainwave hit her like a smack in the face. _That smell… No wonder it's familiar! It's Greg's favourite cologne! _

"Warrick! Stop a minute, I need to talk to you!" she said, tapping her friend on the shoulder.

"What is it Sara?"

"I swear I can smell Greg's cologne mixed in with the must smell of this tunnel. Can you smell it?"

"Haven't really thought about the aroma of my surroundings ya know…" Warrick tilted his head slightly and sniffed. Sara was right, now that he thought about it he could smell Greg. That distinctive cologne he often wore had left a mark on the passage somewhere. "Hey, I can I thought you might've been joshing me for a sec…"

"You really think I'd be joking at a time like this?"

"Mmmm… I guess not. In other news this could mean we're near to our boy!"

"Finally, I'm so worried about him… Warrick?"

"Yeah?"

"What if… What if we're too late?"

"Don't say that. We're not, keep your chin up, we'll find him, get him home and everything will be ok. Greg's gonna be fine."

"Yeah… Yeah you're right. What am I saying?"

"Come on, lets get moving, we're gonna find him Sara!" Warrick put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a warm smile. He could see the glint returning to her eyes and the two of them walked on side by side.

Catherine turned and whispered to Grissom:

"Hey, Gil… Can you see that shape? Looks like a person…"

"I can. Come on; let's catch our mystery friend up…" Grissom quickened his pace and Catherine and Nick followed suit and slowly the figure became clearer. It was a man quite tall with broad shoulders. He'd obviously noticed the team walking quickly towards him because he turned and started running. Gil motioned for Nick to tail the escaping figure whilst he and Catherine continued walking swiftly. Nick ran full throttle after the shadow who was heading for a door at the end of the corridor. By the time Nick had caught up the door had been flung open, flooding the corridor with bright light. He lifted his arm to shield his eyes from the light but carried on running. After becoming accustomed to the brightness, Nick removed his arm and took in his surroundings. Looking around, his eyes soon rested on a sight that filled him with fear.

Still walking through the everlasting tunnel Warrick and Sara were starting to fill with confidence and hope for finding Greg. His 'scent' was getting stronger and the two were shining their flashlights around madly for any signs of Greg or a way out of the tunnel. Pretty soon Warrick's light beam hit something. Another trapdoor! Warrick handed Sara his flashlight and he pushed hard on the door above his head. Nothing happened.

"Perhaps you should try pulling on the handle?" Sara said a slight sarcasm in her voice.

"Dammit! I can't believe I missed that…" Warrick reached up and pulled down on the handle, bringing the door down with it. Sara returned his flashlight to him and they both shone the beams of light up into the darkness of the new tunnel. They could see a ladder and right at the top another trapdoor. Sara looked at Warrick and he said:

"Well, it's worth a shot. It may take us one step closer to Greg." Warrick held his flashlight in one hand and grabbed a rung of the ladder with the other. Hoisting himself up into the tunnel, he called back for Sara to follow. Looking up and shining the light from his flashlight, Warrick reached up for the next rung and began to steadily climb. Everything was going well until his foot slipped, Warrick dropped his flashlight and clung to the rungs for dear life as he tried to regain his footing. Noticing the falling flashlight Sara called up:

"Hey Warr? You alright up there?"

"Yeah I'm fine…" He shouted back, not wanting to alarm her. After a few precious seconds Warrick finally regained his footing and continued his climb. Even in the gloom the trapdoor was becoming visible. He reached and pushed hard on the door. It swung upwards allowing light to flow into the tunnel. He pulled himself out, reaching a hand down to Sara to help her up. The two CSIs were out of the tunnel and began to look around the room. Warrick looked up and saw something, he turned to Sara and she looked too. The sight made the both of them terrified…


	16. Falling

Falling…

The five CSIs had all arrived in the same room, and each had their eyes fixated on a platform at the far end of the room. Stood on the platform was Greg, with a rope around his neck and a shadow stood behind him.

"Greg!!" Sara screamed. There wasn't a flicker of movement from the spiky-haired CSI. Sara collapsed onto her knees, Catherine and Grissom quickly went to her aid. Nick had his eyes unmoving, unblinking on Greg, watching every move of the shadow. Seconds, minutes passed and the shadow made no movement.

Suddenly without warning the shadow pushed Greg clear of the platform, Sara screamed again as one of her best friends plummeted towards the floor. Nick, in shock had mere seconds to think. He shouted to Warrick:

"Warrick! Throw me your gun!"

"What the hell? What are you playing at Nick?!"

"Just do it! Trust me!"

Warrick obliged tossing the gun to Nick. Nick caught it and knowing that he had only one chance aimed at the rope suspending Greg. He fired. The noise shattered the atmosphere in the room. Warrick watched in amazement ad the bullet flew towards Greg. Nick, praying that his shot was accurate tracked the flight of his bullet through the stuffy air of the room. Luck and skill came into play as the bullet flew through the rope sending Greg down to the floor, landing with a thud. Nick dropped the gun and ran to his friend's side. Warrick was prepared to follow until he heard a crackling. He looked to his right and saw sparks playing along the floor, a set path. A fuse.

"Nick! Grab Greg and get away from there! There must be some form of explosives around you! That fuse is coming right at you!" Nick was at a loss, Greg seemed too unstable to be moved but if he didn't get move him then they were both sentenced to death. He had no choice; he had to get Greg to safety. Hoping that Greg's body could withstand it, Nick heaved Greg over his shoulders and began to move as quickly as he could towards the safety of the corridors. For Warrick, it was all too much, he couldn't just stand there he had to help Nick and Greg. He ran towards Nick, looking over his shoulder to check on the progress of the fuse. He had no idea where the explosives were but he just had to keep an eye on that fuse. It was their lifeline. Warrick hollered to Grissom, Sara and Catherine:

"Guys come on! We gotta get Greg outta here!" The four of them ran to Nick and helped him carry Greg towards the open door that was just a few feet in front of them.

Just inches from safety, their lifeline ran out and the room began to explode. Time seemed to slow down as the shock waves sent out from the bomb propelled the team through the door and into the awaiting corridor…


	17. Going Home

Getting Out

The dust was beginning to settle, and none of the CSIs had escaped the blast unscathed, but at least they were safe, for now. The room behind them was slowly filling with flames which were sending smoky fumes towards them. Nick was the first to regain his senses. He scanned the hall looking instinctively for danger. When he was satisfied that it was safe he let his eyes rest on his fallen comrade. Greg was in a terrible state but he was breathing and had therefore had a pulse. Nick took his vest and placed it under Greg's head and he left his friend for a few seconds to wake the rest of the team, it was incredibly important that they get Greg out of this place and to a hospital. It wasn't long before the team were up and ready to get Greg to safety. Gathering round him, the 5 remaining CSIs lifted Greg and tried to move him but to no avail.

"Nick, this is never gonna work, he's too fragile in this condition. We need something to lift him on." Warrick said straightening up.

"You're right… I have an idea; I'll be back in a sec." Nick raced past the others back into the room they'd just come from. He soon came back with a large wooden board and his signature smile across his face.

"Hey! Nice find Nick, this should make things easier." Catherine said taking the board from Nick and placing it on the floor beside Greg's still frame.

"Now this is going to be difficult, so we need to be quick but cautious." Grissom said. "Nick lift Greg's shoulders, Warrick take his feet, Cath, Sara you lift him on the left and right sides. I'll make sure there's nothing to stop this going well. Ready? 1-2-3 LIFT!" The four CSIs lifted Greg and set him down on the makeshift stretcher.

"There. That should make things easier." Nick said wiping his brow. "Now to get Greggo outta here. Gris, are you leading the way?"

"Yes I will Nicky, the rest of you carry Greg and follow me. If anything is wrong I will let you know and if Greg wakes up tell me immediately." Grissom said taking his flashlight and pointing it down the dark corridor. He started walking down the hallway with his team following behind, everything was going well, and they were going to get Greg out and to safety. They reached a window and Grissom looked out to see how high up they were. He saw that they were some way from the floor, he estimated about 3 storeys up. They needed to find stairs as soon as they could. Every second spent in this place was slowly cutting through Greg's lifeline. The team trudged on determined to escape this fortress of peril. Soon they found the emergency stairs. Everyone was relieved, things were looking up for them. So they began the long and difficult descent to the floors below. It was all running smoothly until Sara missed a step and tripped dropping her side of the board. Greg began to slowly move towards the unguarded side and Nick had to quickly dive to stop him whilst Sara got herself up again. And with that drama over the team resumed their struggle. As they reached the bottom the team could feel the temperature rising and their vision was becoming cloudy. The fire had spread badly down here, it had engulfed most of the lower floor. Grissom could just make out an orange glow on their left whereas their right remained dark.

"Quick!" Grissom coughed through the smoke. "This way, we've got to find a way out!" The team tried to quicken their pace but it was difficult. The heat dragged at them and the smoke made it difficult to breath, but they had to go on, for Greg's sake. Minutes later Grissom found a window large enough for them to get through. He took his firearm from his belt and fired at the window, shattering some of the glass but most of the window was still intact. Grissom looked around him desperate to find something to help them, and his eyes fell on a beam that had fallen from the ceiling. He picked it up but couldn't carry it alone. He yelled for his team to help and they swiftly put Greg down and went to his aid. The 5 of them lifted the beam with ease and threw it at the window, the remains of which shattered under the heavy weight of the beam. Grissom clambered out first and then shouted to his team to pass Greg through and climb out themselves. Slowly and steadily they passed Greg through the hole and out into the cleaner air. After about 10 long minutes Greg was out safely and the team were beginning to leave the building when the ceiling above them began to groan. Now rushed by the imminent danger of a collapsing ceiling the CSIs hurried to get themselves out. Nick and Warrick helped Catherine and Sara out through the window. The two women were then followed by Warrick. Nick was about to clamber through the window when the ceiling a few metres beside him began to cave in.


	18. Safe?

Safe?

Nick cried out as falling debris began to shower him. Above the noise Grissom shouted:

"Catherine, Sara, Warrick you guys get Greg out of here! I'm gonna help Nick out!" The three CSIs looked at each other and knew that Gris was right and so they reluctantly began to move their tortured friend away from the danger.

Nick had staggered back from the window shielding his eyes from the dust of the falling roof. He could hear Grissom calling to him, so he called back:

"Grissom! Give me a hand outta here!"

"I'm coming Nick, just don't move!"

"That's easier said than done" Nick murmured to himself. He froze himself where he stood as best he could and awaited Grissom's next instruction.

Outside, Grissom was making a few preparations before re-entering the burning deathtrap; making sure his jacket was done up right to the top, covering his mouth and most of his nose, making sure his eyes were clear and within a few minutes he was heading back to the building. Sara looked back and called for Grissom but her cries were lost under the roar of the fire.

Nick was coughing a lot now; the smoke was thickening, its grasp was tightening on his lungs. He could barely see through the fog or hear over the crackle of the blaze, but he could feel and he felt a tap on the shoulder. Grissom.

"Nick. Listen to me, that window is too small for both of us to crawl out of. The whole building has been weakened by the heat from the fire. If we can combine our strength, we'll get out of here." Grissom shouted in his usual cryptic fashion.

"What do you mean?" Nick choked as he took in a mouthful of smoke.

"What I mean is that on 3 we are both going to run together at that wall directly in front of us and hopefully break through."

"And if we don't break through?"

"Then its time for plan B."

"What's plan B?"

"I'm not sure yet…"

_Oh great. How reassuring. Well I just hope this works._ Nick thought as he prepared himself to run.

"Ready? 3-2-1… Run!" Grissom shouted and the two men ran with as much power as they could muster directly at the weakened wall. Their sprint seemed to last for hours, each step becoming more difficult as the oxygen in their lungs was being replaced by the poisonous smoke. The smoke was soon abruptly knocked out of them as they made impact. Under their combine weight, the weakened wall instantly crumbled sending CSIs Grissom and Stokes tumbling into a perilous pile of rubble. Their backs were being pelted with shards of bricks and they knew that if they didn't move fast the rest of the building would crush them. Nick looked to his right and saw his boss lying a few feet away from him. Nick scrambled to his feet and picked his way carefully across the mound towards his winded comrade in order to help him up.

The seconds ticked by and with each tick the building was inching closer to its inevitable collapse and their lifeline was getting shorter. After a few minutes the two men were up on their feet and navigating their way across the rubble. The minutes crawled by; the tension hung like fog in the air; and neither man spoke a word so as to keep their concentration.

Soon their hard work paid off; soon they had reached solid ground and could begin catching up with the others. Nick wiped his face where beads of sweat had been dripping down it. He turned to Grissom and said:

"Thanks Gil."

"It's ok Nick, I almost lost you once. I'm not about to do it again." Grissom laid a hand on Nick's shoulder and shook his hand. Nick's trademark smile returned to him and the two colleagues made their way back to their SUV, glad to be away from the hazardous, creaking building and hoping to catch up with the rest of the team and Greg.

_Damn. I've done it again; I was so wrapped up in my own ordeal that I completely forgot about Greg… Where is he? Is he ok? I need to help him!_ Nick's thoughts were racing as he clambered into his SUV. As he was getting into the passenger seat, Grissom's cell phone rang.

"Grissom. You're joking…"


	19. Typical

Hey, sorry its been a while, i've been doing an exchange for the past week and battling writer's block, so its only a short chapter I'm afraid, but i'm getting back into the swing of things and the next one should be up soon!

* * *

Typical

Grissom looked at Nick and then dialed a number on his cell.

"Cath? You guys at the hospital?"

"Nearly Gris, Sara is in the ambulance with Greg and Warrick and I are in the Denali right behind them."

"OK well, Nick and I will come along later. We have to get back to the lab. There's been an explosion."

"What?! Grissom?! Explain!"

"Not now, Cath. I'll explain later." Grissom cut the connection and then told Nick to floor it.

They soon arrived at the lab where everyone had been evacuated and the fire brigade was running inside with hoses. Nick looked around, it was too familiar, and not long ago he'd almost been the victim of a fire.

Grissom had found Brass and was almost interrogating him as to what had happened.

"Gil, I don't know what happened, there was just a loud noise and then the fire alarms went off. If you wanna find out what happened then I'm not the person to ask!" Brass said trying to shake Grissom off.

"Fine, who do I need to ask?" Grissom said stepping back slightly.

"You know as well as I do; the staff who were down where the fire started; the cops who were guarding the cells."

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this… For Greg's sake…" Grissom muttered as he stalked off.

Meanwhile, Nick had been looking over the various casualties whom had not been taken by the ambulance. He was looking for one face and one face only. The face of James Ritchard. He scanned over the faces of the injured and unconscious again and again looking for the cold hearted man who had taken his best friend. But he couldn't find him. He jogged over to the nearest paramedic and said:

"I'm looking for a guy. He has green eyes, brown hair, blonde highlights, he's about 6'1'' and he would be wearing an orange jumpsuit."

"I think there's a man fitting that description in the furthest bag on the right, just next to the fire trucks." The paramedic said solemnly.

"Thanks." Nick said quickly as he started to run towards the thankfully short line of body bags. He dropped to his knees beside the furthest bag and gingerly opened the zip. His eyes met a badly burned man that exactly matched the appearance of James Ritchard. Nick turned over the man's hands; all of his fingers had been so burned that it was impossible to make out any fingerprints. The man was almost bald where his hair had been removed by the fire and what now coated his head was a black crumbling mass. Nick tried to make out the number on the chest of the orange jumpsuit – 29413 – that was the number he'd seen on the jumpsuit that James Ritchard had been wearing not so long ago. He checked the bag for anything else and in one of the man's shoes he found a driver's license registered to James Ritchard. _It must be true then… James Ritchard is dead. Greg's troubles are over… _Nick thought to himself as he walked back to find Grissom.

Grissom had been trying to find the cops who had been watching the cells where the explosion had happened. So far he'd managed to find out that 2 were dead and the other 4 were badly injured in hospital. _Typical. The one time I need them here, they're not. _Grissom thought as he saw Nick trudging towards him.

"Hey Nick, what's up?"

"Well, there's some good news but I'm not sure if it's time to celebrate." Nick said with a slight feeling of satisfaction.

"What is it then Nicky?"

"There is a strong possibility that James Ritchard is dead."

"Great. On the one hand the guy can no longer hurt anyone…"

"But on the other hand, that bastard is getting away with two murders, kidnap and torture…" Nick sighed, finishing Grissom's sentence.

"That's just the way it is I'm afraid Nick, but we must let the paramedics confirm his ID. In the meantime, how about we go see how Greg is."

"Definitely. I need to find out how he is." Nick said taking the keys out from his pocket.


	20. Broken And Bruised

Broken And Bruised

Nick parked the SUV outside the hospital, locked it, pocketed the keys and began to walk hurriedly towards the front doors. Grissom had to jog to keep up with the Texan's fast pace and almost went completely past him as Nick made an abrupt halt in front of the reception desk.

"I'm looking for Greg Sanders." Nick asked.

"Oh, hold on let me check how he's doing." The receptionist said as she reached for a phone.

Nick was growing more and more impatient and it was beginning to show by the time the receptionist turned back to them.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Mr. Sanders is in surgery. I'd better let the doctors explain. Dr Davis is with Mr. Sanders' other visitors now, they're down in the east wing. Follow the signs." The receptionist said apologetically.

Nick thanked her and then walked off, leaving Grissom stood, still talking to the receptionist, at the reception desk.

Nick didn't really care about those around him, he just had to find Greg; his mind was focused on him. He walked on for what seemed like hours, through twisting corridors and up several flights of stairs; he couldn't bear the wait for an elevator. He just kept walking and walking, his pace getting quicker as he went. He was suddenly brought to a stop by a hand on his shoulder.

"It's gonna be ok Nick. Greg's gonna be fine. Slow down." Grissom had finally caught up with his torn up colleague.

"Sorry Gris, I just… I just gotta find Greg."

"I know Nicky, and we will. Don't worry."

"I can't help it…" Nick said as he turned and continued walking.

It wasn't too much longer before the pair arrived in a waiting room where a doctor was waiting to explain their friend's condition to the rest of the team.

"Great you guys are finally here. Dr Davis was just gonna tell us about Greg." Catherine said.

"Well, the extent of Mr. Sanders' injuries is worse than what I've seen in a long time but the news isn't all bad. He had to be taken into surgery as some small metal fragments had to be removed from both legs; they looked like segments from a knife; that went successfully. His shoulder has been put back into place and his arm has been set in cast so that the bone will heal nicely. All of his gashes, cuts, bruises are all healing well but there is one slight problem." The doctor said. "You said that Mr. Sanders was almost hung?"

"Yes that's right." Sara said, sounding worried.

"I'm afraid that put a lot of stress on his vocal cords and windpipe. He is breathing alright, but only just and it is unclear at the moment as to whether he will regain his voice. We will know when he wakes up. I'm sorry." Dr Davis finished.

Shock spread rapidly across their faces and color began to drain.

"May we see him?" Nick asked.

"Not yet. He has only just come out of surgery. A nurse will come out and tell you when you may see him." Dr Davis said.

"Do you have any idea when he'll be let out?" Grissom enquired.

"We're not sure yet, Mr. Sanders will need to stay here for a while to be monitored. I will let you know when we know."

"Thank you doctor." Grissom said. Dr Davis nodded, turned and walked out. Then the waiting began. Every member of the team went through the cycle of pacing, looking around, getting something from the vending machines and then sitting back down again; it was torture. Two slow and painful hours went by before a nurse came out to see them.

"You can go see Mr. Sanders now. He's just woken up so he may be a bit cranky." She smiled and then walked out.

Relieved the 6 of them made their way quietly into Greg's room. He looked so battered; most of his skin was either scabbed or purple. And to add a splash of color amongst the bruises was the white of Greg's casts and patches.

Nick pulled a chair up beside Greg's bed and said:

"Man am I glad to see you're ok. I thought I'd lost ya."

Greg turned his head to face Nick, wincing as he did. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then winced, closed his eyes, began to shake and closed it again. He turned away and tears began to roll down his bruised cheeks. He could say nothing.


	21. Good News

Good News

Time passed slowly in the hospital, and for Greg even the morphine couldn't keep all the pain at bay. He still felt twinges when he tried to breath or talk and every night was emotional torture as the memories would flood his subconscious. Every night he would wake up, rasping, trying to cry out; dripping with sweat, checking his limbs for blood. He looked like a madman. But each day there was hope; a different friend came to see him. Often it was Nick or Sara, sometimes Warrick and more often than you'd think, Grissom came by. It was only these visits that kept Greg sane.

Not only would his friends come by to check up on him, but they'd bring him gifts too; food, drink, clothes, even music and movies. Sometimes they'd bring welcoming news. Like today.

Greg had been in the hospital for just a couple of days, his body still littered with marks from his suffering. Around midday, Greg turned his head to see Nick coming into his room and sitting on the chair by his bed.

"Hey Greggo." The Texan's voice was comforting to Greg, it made him believe that there was somebody that cared. "I've got a few things for ya." Nick reached into the plastic bag he'd been carrying and pulled out a blue, leaf printed bag and Greg's eyes began to sparkle.

"I thought you'd appreciate this." Nick said with his warm smile. "Blue Hawaiian coffee, now I'm not sure if you're allowed this stuff, but when you are, it's here waiting for ya." Next Nick pulled out a couple of CDs, Marilyn Manson and a couple of his other favorites, he placed them on the bedside table.

"Something for you to listen to. Now remember not too loud…" Nick said jokingly. Greg smiled, the first in days. Nick's smile started to shrink, and he leant slightly closer to Greg's side.

"I've also got some news for you. It's not definite yet, but I think it'll put you in a better mood." Greg's smile went too and his eyes locked with Nick's. "We have found a body that may be James Ritchard, if it is then it means he is dead and won't be able to come after you or anyone else again." Nick sat straight again and put a hand on Greg's shoulder, but his young friend turned away.

"Hey G, it's gonna be ok. Don't worry, we'll always be here for ya." Nick said trying to reassure Greg, who turned back to Nick and looked at him with glassy eyes.

It was difficult working in the spaces that they had been confined to. It couldn't be helped; a fair bit of the lab lay in pieces outside. Even with most of the team around the lab still seemed empty. It still seemed quiet. It didn't feel right without Greg. And even though she knew he was safe and recovering Sara couldn't stop worrying about her friend. She couldn't stop thinking about how she almost lost him. It wasn't just her and she knew it. The feeling hung over the night shift team like a dark cloud, even over Hodges. It was even spreading to the day shift; a team that hardly knew Greg but knew of his antics. Many of the people in the remains of the LVPD building missed Greg even if they didn't know.

Nick had gone down to the hospital cafeteria to pick up a bite to eat when he bumped into Dr Davis; Greg's doctor.

"Hey doctor, any news on Greg?" Nick asked.

"Well now that you ask Mr. Stokes there is, and it's good news actually." The doctor replied with a smile beginning to spread across his face.

"Really? What? What is it?" Nick was sounding eager.

"I think we'd better include Greg in the telling of good news." He said as he began to walk in the direction of the east wing, with Nick close behind.

Greg rolled over once more to see Dr. Davis entering with Nick.

"Good afternoon Greg. How are you feeling?" Greg nodded to say he was ok.

"That's good because I was just talking to Nick and I remembered I have a bit of good news for the two of you." Greg looked up suddenly alert and Nick went and resumed his position in the chair beside Greg.

"Well, we've been monitoring the progress of your bones and ribs and I can safely say that they are healing very nicely." Greg smiled. "And we have also been keeping an eye on your trachea and larynx and although they aren't healing as well as we had hoped, they are healing and you should regain painless breathing ability in a few days at most, but I'm afraid that your voice won't be back for around a week. I'm sorry." Dr. Davis finished almost ashamed to say the last bit. Greg's smile vanished again, he couldn't bear the thought of suffering for any longer in silence and so he rolled over once more, blocking out the world and shutting himself into an uneasy slumber.


	22. Dreaming

Dreaming

Life without a voice was tough, even if it was only for a week and that was what Greg found the most difficult to deal with. He could shut out the memories for so long but he yearned to get them out, get them heard. He wanted to tell someone. The memories were plaguing him and he wished that if he told someone they would just disappear but his injuries wouldn't allow him. Even with his friends frequently visiting he was sometimes alone and then it would all come swarming back. He wanted so badly to escape, but he knew that the only way to escape was to last the week.

It was Nick who came the most. Greg kind of expected it from the Texan. He was in almost every morning after work and almost always brought him something. Greg looked forward to these visits. To him it felt like Christmas and birthdays all rolled into one. He was so grateful for the company that he often didn't even notice the gifts. Nick was the one who made him feel safe. Nick was the one who banished those memories back into his mind.

The day dawned and the warm Vegas sunshine glared through Greg's hospital window forcing back into the world. He yawned, rubbed his eyes and looked around the room. Just out of the corner of his eye he could see the little blue package of coffee that Nick had brought him the previous day and it brought a smile back to his face. Smiling had grown more and more difficult especially after Dr. Davis had told him that he wasn't getting out until his voice was completely back and could communicate with it properly.

He was still feeling a little groggy but he decided to get up anyway, he'd at least been given the freedom to walk around his room. He walked over to the window, leant on one leg and stared out of it.

Back in the locker room, Nick was throwing his gear into his locker and quickly swapped his shirt for a cleaner one that was waiting for him, he was getting ready to go and see Greg. He didn't hear Warrick walk in and was a little surprised when he heard him say:

"Woah! Someone's in a hurry."

"Oh hey Warr, yeah, I guess I am. I'm off to see Greg."

"D'ya mind if I tag along? I kinda owe him a visit."

"Sure! The more the merrier, and I'm sure that's how G sees it" The Texan chuckled.

The two friends got their stuff out and made their way to their Denali.

It was dark, cold and Greg awoke to find himself dressed only in his slacks. He dizzily got up and tried to take in his surroundings. He couldn't see much but he jumped when he felt someone touch his shoulder and someone whisper his name. He whipped round and was faced with frosty, unforgiving eyes; familiar eyes. Suddenly struck with fear, Greg tried to shout but remembered his voice wasn't there. Suddenly something hit his stomach, forcing him back in recoil. Again he tried to shout but no sound came out. Another blow came to him but this time to his chin. The force of the blow flung him backwards into a wall. He could hear footsteps and could sense something coming towards his throat. He knew it was coming but he couldn't fight back as a gloved hand wrapped itself around his neck. It's grip began to get tighter and tighter and he tried call out, but once more to no avail. Through the pain, he managed to hear his name being called by voices that sounded familiar, he tried to signal where he was but too soon everything went black.

"Greg!" Nick shouted. "Greg wake up man!"

"What's happening to him Doc?" Warrick asked worriedly.

"He's dreaming, but from the way he's moving and perspiring I can tell that this dream is not pleasant." Dr. Davis replied. "We have to wake him up before he damages himself"

Greg was writhing violently, making raspy noises from the depths of his throat, his body was soaked with sweat and he seemed to have collapsed on the floor by his window.

"Greg! Come on buddy, wake up!" Nick shouted, shaking his friend.

Greg's reaction was not what Nick expected. Nick's shaking must have had an effect on the dream because Greg suddenly lashed out and managed to hit Nick. Completely taken aback Nick let go of Greg and brought his hands up to his own face. Seeing what had happened to Nick, Warrick placed a hand on Greg's shoulder gently.

"G, it's me Warrick, I know you can hear me, it's ok, it's just a dream. Just wake up and everything will be fine."

Greg twitched slightly and then slowly stopped moving, his breathing heavy and labored. Warrick stepped back to allow Dr. Davis to check Greg's vitals. When satisfied he stood up and said:

"He's alive, but it's amazing he doesn't appear to have damaged himself. We just need to get him back into bed and I'm afraid we can only wait until he wakes up. I'm sorry." The doctor called in the nurses and they settled Greg back into bed. Nick and Warrick each pulled a chair up to Greg's bedside and waited for him to wake up.


	23. Awake

Awake

Grissom had heard about Greg's dream from Nick and had decided to join Nick and Warrick at the hospital.

He was about to leave his office when Catherine and Sara walked in all prepared to talk about their latest case. When she saw Grissom about to leave Sara asked:

"And where are you going?"

"Out. To visit Greg. It's the end of the shift so I thought I'd go and see how he is." Grissom said.

"Right, you rarely ever leave at the end of the shift… What gives?" Catherine asked.

"Well, Greg had a bit of an incident; I'm going to see how he is."

"I can tell already that you're not going to divulge the details so we're coming with you." Sara said. Grissom knew well enough not to argue and he led the two women down the long hall to the parking lot.

Nick had been waiting for hours. Warrick was down in the cafeteria picking them both up some lunch. The worry was growing in the pit of Nick's stomach, he could feel it, the kind of feeling he remembered getting before walking into exams back in high school. It had been nearly 2 hours since Greg's ordeal and he hadn't shown any sign of change. Nick's anxiety was beginning to swallow him and he began to lose himself within his mind.

He didn't know how long had passed but Nick was brought out of his subconscious state by a door shutting. He looked up to see Grissom, Catherine and Sara stood at the side of the room. Nick beckoned them over and the three stood by the bed watching over Greg.

Soon after Warrick returned with the food he'd brought from the cafeteria, a bit surprised to see the whole team there he said:

"Hey, am I too late for the party?"

"No, no, sleeping beauty still hasn't woken up." Grissom replied. And as if on cue, Greg lifted his head and rubbed his eyes.

"Hey Greggo, how ya feeling?" Nick asked. Greg gave Nick a look as if to say: how do you think? Nick smiled in return and said:

"If it makes you feel any better, you've got a bigger reception than last time."

Greg sat up and his eyes were greeted with the sight of his team, his friends. His signature grin returned and for a few moments he felt normal again. He glanced up at the door to see Dr. Davis standing there.

"Ah, Mr. Sanders, you're awake I see. You're looking much better now." Greg nodded in acknowledgement and watched as the doctor strode towards him.

"Let me just check your charts." Dr. Davis said. He picked up the folder at the end of the bed and had a quick flip through it. "Yes, according to these, you've made a nice improvement. Your dream won't affect your recovery at all. We'll just have to keep a closer eye on you. I'll be back to check on you later Mr. Sanders." Dr. Davis walked out of the room leaving Sara and Catherine looking a little confused.

"OK… Dream? Anyone care to explain?" Catherine asked. Greg looked at Nick, asking him silently to explain what had happened. Nick sighed and began to recount the whole thing.

By the time Nick had finished, Greg had rolled over to face the wall and Sara and Catherine were wearing expressions of worry. Grissom had pulled up his chair against the side of Greg's bed.

"Greg?" He said. Greg turned slightly so that he could just see his boss from the corner of his eye.

"Greg, I know this is tough for you… But I wanted to say that, we're all behind you, we're all waiting for you back in the lab. It's quiet Greg."

Greg turned to face his boss, he saw a warm look in Grissom's eyes; a look he seldom saw.

"Greg. We all want you back but right now all you can do is rest. The doctors will keep a close eye on you. And if you need anything we're just a call away." Grissom patted his friend on the shoulder before he left the room to return to the lab. The team all said their goodbyes and filed out. Once again, Greg was alone.


	24. Me Time

Me Time

Later on that night, Greg couldn't sleep. He didn't know why but he just couldn't drift off. Looking around his room he knew there wasn't much he could do in a hospital at 3am. He sank back into his pillows and it wasn't long before Greg drifted into the back of his mind. He liked this place; it was place he often visited when he was alone. It was full of his best memories. It was as if memory lane was right at his fingertips.

It had only occurred to him recently how much the team really cared for him. They had been in the hospital day in, day out, just to check if he was ok. He was curious if he'd just taken their care for granted in the past, so he stretched far into the past looking at some of his earlier memories. One which came up quite quickly was the lab explosion, his first visit to the hospital as a lab rat. Even back then, the team had been there in the hospital with him, just to keep him company. _Even Catherine, _Greg thought to himself. _She could have been at home spending time with her daughter but she came to me instead. _He'd never really thought about it before. He thought about all those times back in the lab when he was playing loud music, being 'weird' - just generally being himself. _Hmmm, all those times Grissom could have told Ecklie or written something in my eval, but he just made a small comment and left… _Greg smiled at those last memories. He'd liked it in the lab but he'd decided that out in the field was where he belonged.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard someone say:

"Hey Greg."

Greg instantly knew the voice, it was Nick. Slightly puzzled, Greg thought:

_Hi Nick… What are you doing in my head? _And when he got no reply, he rolled over and rubbed his eyes, to see Nick sat by his bed.

"Hey Greg, it's a quiet night down at the lab, Grissom said I should come see you. Did I wake you up?"

"No, no. I was having some me time."

Nick's jaw dropped. Had he heard right, did Greg just say something?

"Greg… What was that?"

Greg just raised his eyebrows in confusion. Nick knew he hadn't heard wrong, he knew he had heard Greg say something, it wasn't easy to understand; it was really croaky and harsh but Nick was sure that it was words.

"Greg. You may not believe me, but you just said something."

Another eyebrow raise.

"Look Greg, just try and say something please?"

Greg rolled his eyes but he tried nonetheless.

"Nick, this won't work. My voice still feels screwed."

A broad smile spread across the Texan's face as he listened to Greg's vaguely understandable words.

"Welcome back Greggo. You're starting to sound like your old self." Nick said laughing. "Hold on, lemme get the doctor."

Nick left, still smiling. Greg was still not sure what to believe. Was Nick hearing right? Greg didn't think he'd heard himself speak. _Well, it wouldn't be like Nick to lie to me… Maybe he was right._ Greg thought. He looked around the room. It was empty except for himself. _Good. Don't want anyone to hear me say something really stupid._

Greg sighed, but then opened his mouth and rasped:

"She sells seashells on the seashore."

He couldn't believe himself, he'd spoken! Greg felt a wave of relief flood him. He was finally getting better, His grin returned and he felt like his old self again. By this time it was now around 5.30. _Man, time sure flies when you're thinking in hospital…_

Greg heard footsteps and looked up to see Nick and Dr. Davis standing in the doorway.

"Well Greg, sounds like you're doing pretty well. Let's see if Mr. Stokes is right."

Greg winked at Nick and turned to the doctor and croaked:

"No, Nick's lying, I can't talk. I don't know why he dragged down here at this hour." He finished his sentence with a broad grin.

"Oh he's back all right." Nick laughed.

"This is excellent Mr. Sanders. You're making a fantastic recovery. I don't see why you can't go home soon."

"Yeah! OW!" Greg suddenly clutched his throat.

"And no shouting for a while." Dr Davis added as he walked out.

Nick walked over to Greg and said:

"Its great to finally have the old Greg back."

"Well, I knew I couldn't be gone long! My replacement would create havoc and besides where would you be without me?"

"I'm not sure where I'd be, but I'm sure my games would stay in their rack at my place."

"Are you accusing me of stealing?" Greg said with his puppy-dog face.

"Yes, and you should know by now that face doesn't work on me."

"Shouldn't you tell the others that I'm recovering?" Greg asked. "I'm sure they'd love to hear my sexy husky voice." He added with a wink.

"Sure Greg, if you say so…" Nick stood up and took out his cell phone.

"Ooo! And say I asked for them here! That should bring them here." Greg chuckled to himself.

Nick stepped out into the corridor to call Grissom.

"…Grissom."

"Hey Gris, it's Nick. Greg's asked for you and the team to come to the hospital."

"Greg asked you?"

"Yeah, he says he wants to show you something."

"OK Nick. Give us about half an hour. We've got a few things to finish up here."

Nick hung up and returned to Greg.

"They'll be here soon."

"Good. That gives me time to work on my speech." Greg joked.

* * *

The convoy arrived at the hospital about 40 minutes later and the team headed for Greg's hospital room.

Grissom pushed open the door and walked in followed by everyone else.

"Hi Nick, what did Greg want?" Grissom asked.

"Well, he wanted to know how much we all missed him."

"That's not difficult, I'm sure Greg knows how much we miss him."

"That's what I said. But Greg insisted that he heard it from us all."

Catherine stepped up to Greg's bedside and said to him:

"Greg. You know how much we miss you, but if you want to hear it then OK. We miss you Greg, we miss you a lot."

"Awww Cath, I never knew you felt that way." Greg said grinning.

"Excuse me?" Catherine was shocked; she looked back at the team: "Did he just say something?"

"Why yes, yes I did. I can say many, many things. Oh and what do you think of my husky voice?"

The team was stunned, Greg's voice had finally come back.

"Well, I think it definitely suits you Greg." Sara said.

"Thank you Sara. Now come on everyone I want to know how much you all missed me!" Greg croaked with his smile plastered across his face.

Everyone gathered around his bed except for Grissom and Nick.

"So when did he first speak?" Grissom asked.

"Between 5 and 5.30. We've finally got our Greg back."

"We do Nick, we do."


	25. Getting Normal Back

Getting Normal Back

The doctors had finally given Greg a date for when he could leave the hospital. He had been looking forward to that day for weeks, and it had finally come. He'd woken up and started packing up the various things that his friends had brought him and then clambered back into bed looking sorry for himself; waiting for the arrival of Nick who was taking him home.

Nick arrived at around midday; he walked into Greg's room with a grin plastered across his face.

"Hey Greggo, you ready to hit the road?" He said brightly.

"Nick, come here…" Greg whispered. "I need to talk to you."

Nick dropped his grin and wandered over to Greg's bedside, pulling himself up a chair as he did so.

"What's up Greg?" He asked.

"I'm not too sure Nick… I feel a little woozy…" Greg murmured as he collapsed. He would've hit his head on the bed if Nick hadn't caught him.

"Oh my God! Greg! Are you ok buddy?" Nick said tapping Greg's head.

"Hehehe. I am now, I always wondered if I could get you like that." Greg laughed, straightening himself up. "And now I know whenever I collapse you'll catch me! It's all important knowledge to keep stored y'know."

"Awwh! Greg!" Nick sighed, ruffling his friends floppy hair. "I might've caught you this time, but if you pull another stunt like that you may have another thing coming. Oh and don't forget who's driving today."

"Jeez Nick" Greg said playfully. "It was just a joke!"

"Well come on then Mr. Comedian, gimme your stuff so we can get outta here."

Greg handed Nick the suitcase.

"Right, that's my baggage sorted. Now, Jeeves. Bring forth my carriage!" Greg pointed towards the wheelchair in the corner of his room. He was loving every minute of winding Nick up, and wasn't afraid to show it.

"Alright _Sir_. But I can tell ya one thing." Nick started to laugh. "You're really not gonna get a date for the dance in that get up." Greg was still wearing his hospital dress.

"Ah but you see, my fairy godmother has that sorted." Greg said as he whipped off the dress, revealing jeans and one of his louder shirts. "And now you see Jeeves, I am ready to leave."

Nick laughed, he loved having his best friend back, he'd missed having his bright and bouncy personality around the lab and he had just remembered how much pay back he had for Greg...

Greg hopped into the wheelchair, and pointed towards the door. Giving Greg his case, Nick got behind the chair and pushed his friend out into the lobby. He signed Greg out and returned the wheelchair. Taking Greg's case, he led him back to the car.

"Welcome back to the world Greg." Nick said as he put his case in the trunk.

Greg had forgotten what it felt like being outside, it had been so long. He threw his arms in the air and laughed as the sun beat down on him. Outdoors. He was back. Nothing could stop him now, he was all set to go back into the field. He was all ready to resume his fun-filled life.

"Hey Greg, when you're done being a madman, the guys are waiting for us at the diner!" Nick shouted as he climbed into the car.

"Food! Great, I was sick and tired of that hospital stuff!" Greg scampered up to the car and hopped in to join his friend.

Nick pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the highway. He looked over at Greg and saw his big smile and couldn't help but laugh. A little confused as to why he was laughing, Greg couldn't help but to join in with Nick. They laughed all the way to the diner.

Greg was back.


End file.
